Poor English

[quote]I fully accept non English speaking members may have difficulties with our language[/quote]
Oh, well, I don't know, sometimes a foreigner who's put some effort into learning proper English has less difficulty getting it right than a native speaker.
For instance, although some of the UK participants in this thread were quick to point out mistakes in the first post of this thread, none of them seem to have noticed the missing hyphens. ;-) ([link=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/non?q=non]Hint ... and that's just one of them.[/link])
But it's a common problem, and not restricted to English speakers - in the Netherlands it's just as bad, so many people don't seem to really know their own language. And so, yes, on Internet forums quite a few posts need deciphering. I don't think that problem will go away, not even if you point it out in a forum post. :-)

Quote:I fully accept non English speaking members may have difficulties with our language

Oh, well, I don't know, sometimes a foreigner who's put some effort into learning proper English has less difficulty getting it right than a native speaker.

For instance, although some of the UK participants in this thread were quick to point out mistakes in the first post of this thread, none of them seem to have noticed the missing hyphens. ( Hint ... and that's just one of them. )

But it's a common problem, and not restricted to English speakers - in the Netherlands it's just as bad, so many people don't seem to really know their own language. And so, yes, on Internet forums quite a few posts need deciphering. I don't think that problem will go away, not even if you point it out in a forum post.

A somewhat hidden Glossary nowadays! Unless you turn on the jargon buster in the Reviews section, that's a rather nice feature.
Btw, I haven't had any good suggestions for additions to the Glossary for some time, so if anyone has any, they'd be most welcome.

A somewhat hidden Glossary nowadays! Unless you turn on the jargon buster in the Reviews section, that's a rather nice feature.

Btw, I haven't had any good suggestions for additions to the Glossary for some time, so if anyone has any, they'd be most welcome.

[quote]
But it's a common problem, and not restricted to English speakers - in the Netherlands it's just as bad, so many people don't seem to really know their own language. [/quote]
Never start a sentence with a conjunction. There should not be a comma before the "and".

Quote:
But it's a common problem, and not restricted to English speakers - in the Netherlands it's just as bad, so many people don't seem to really know their own language.

Never start a sentence with a conjunction. There should not be a comma before the "and".

The funniest (or not) example I have seen of this, was on a recent Facebook page. It was a BNP rant about johnny foreigner coming over here and claiming benefits. The standard of English on the comments was so poor that some of them were unreadable. Surely if these people are so adament about keeping Britain British they would learn how to write their own language properly.

The funniest (or not) example I have seen of this, was on a recent Facebook page. It was a BNP rant about johnny foreigner coming over here and claiming benefits. The standard of English on the comments was so poor that some of them were unreadable. Surely if these people are so adament about keeping Britain British they would learn how to write their own language properly.

[quote]Never start a sentence with a conjunction.[/quote]
That is somewhat old hat. In government circles, several years ago, instructions were issued to that effect.
Whereupon officials eagerly started using "And" and "But" to start practically every sentence! :D

Quote:Never start a sentence with a conjunction.

That is somewhat old hat. In government circles, several years ago, instructions were issued to that effect.

Whereupon officials eagerly started using "And" and "But" to start practically every sentence!

[quote]Never start a sentence with a conjunction. There should not be a comma before the "and".[/quote]
I'd say that both of these statements would normally be good advice, but they're not rules - at least not undebated or uncontested ones.
Just for your information, you may want to read [link=http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/coordinatingconjunction.htm]this[/link]. (Pay particular attention to this part: "Some teachers warn that beginning a sentence with a coordinating conjunction is wrong. Teachers will typically tell you this because they are trying to help you avoid writing fragments. Other times teachers give this advice because their preference is that a sentence not begin with a coordinating conjunction. What you should remember is that you break no grammar rule if you begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. ")
In language matters, so many things are debatable. Take "It is I" or "It is me", the debate about these two options seems to be never-ending.
But it keeps linguistics interesting... :D

Quote:Never start a sentence with a conjunction. There should not be a comma before the "and".

I'd say that both of these statements would normally be good advice, but they're not rules - at least not undebated or uncontested ones.

Just for your information, you may want to read this . (Pay particular attention to this part: "Some teachers warn that beginning a sentence with a coordinating conjunction is wrong. Teachers will typically tell you this because they are trying to help you avoid writing fragments. Other times teachers give this advice because their preference is that a sentence not begin with a coordinating conjunction. What you should remember is that you break no grammar rule if you begin a sentence with a coordinating conjunction. ")

In language matters, so many things are debatable. Take "It is I" or "It is me", the debate about these two options seems to be never-ending.

[quote]
I'd say that both of these statements would normally be good advice, but they're not rules - at least not undebated or uncontested ones.
[/quote]
In the example in question I'd say that it was advice that it would have been better to follow. The "But" started a sentence in a new paragraph that did not appear to be clearly linked to the intended statement, separated as it was by a parenthetical clause.

Quote:
I'd say that both of these statements would normally be good advice, but they're not rules - at least not undebated or uncontested ones.

In the example in question I'd say that it was advice that it would have been better to follow. The "But" started a sentence in a new paragraph that did not appear to be clearly linked to the intended statement, separated as it was by a parenthetical clause.

There's nothing wrong with starting a sentence with "but" - provided it's not the first sentence in whatever is being said/written, because it needs context. It is usually used like that to refute or offer an alternative to something that has already been said/written.
A similar thing that I see frequently on some forum sites with people opening a new thread and their very first word being "So", that one really grates on me. It must be to do with the way they usually talk, because I rarely see "But" used in the same way.

There's nothing wrong with starting a sentence with "but" - provided it's not the first sentence in whatever is being said/written, because it needs context. It is usually used like that to refute or offer an alternative to something that has already been said/written.

A similar thing that I see frequently on some forum sites with people opening a new thread and their very first word being "So", that one really grates on me. It must be to do with the way they usually talk, because I rarely see "But" used in the same way.

[quote]In the example in question I'd say that it was advice that it would have been better to follow. The "But" started a sentence in a new paragraph that did not appear to be clearly linked to the intended statement, separated as it was by a parenthetical clause.[/quote]
Well analysed, thanks, and I appreciate the linguistic insight - however, what I wrote got my message across, and in that respect I thought it worked well.
I try not to break any real language rules, but I have to admit to sometimes being creative in my use of language - more creative than some stricter linguists. I suppose it's the interpreter in me, as an interpreter I have to be more creative in constructing sentences than as a translator - and I like being an interpreter much more than being a translator. :-)

Quote:In the example in question I'd say that it was advice that it would have been better to follow. The "But" started a sentence in a new paragraph that did not appear to be clearly linked to the intended statement, separated as it was by a parenthetical clause.

Well analysed, thanks, and I appreciate the linguistic insight - however, what I wrote got my message across, and in that respect I thought it worked well.

I try not to break any real language rules, but I have to admit to sometimes being creative in my use of language - more creative than some stricter linguists. I suppose it's the interpreter in me, as an interpreter I have to be more creative in constructing sentences than as a translator - and I like being an interpreter much more than being a translator.

[quote]Never start a sentence with a conjunction.
That is somewhat old hat. In government circles, several years ago, instructions were issued to that effect.
Whereupon officials eagerly started using "And" and "But" to start practically every sentence! :D[/quote]
If we copied everything that lot did and said, we'd be in a right mess.....
Ah, it would appear that we do :(

Quote:Never start a sentence with a conjunction.

That is somewhat old hat. In government circles, several years ago, instructions were issued to that effect.

Whereupon officials eagerly started using "And" and "But" to start practically every sentence!

If we copied everything that lot did and said, we'd be in a right mess.....